James Garner 1928-2014

"Support Your Local Sheriff!"

James Garner starred as the calm and cool new lawman - just what his excitable and rambunctious Western mining town needs - in the 1969 comic western, "Support Your Local Sheriff!"

Garner, who died on Saturday, July 19, 2014 at the age of 86, was a popular TV and movie star whose great gift was an easy comic sensibility - even in the most dire of straits - that made his Everyman characters (such as on the TV series "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files") timeless.

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan

Credit: United Artists

"Maverick"

James Garner as the cardsharp "Maverick," in the comic western series that ran from 1957 to 1962. Garner starred during the first few seasons before leaving the show to his character's brothers, Bart and Beau Maverick.

Credit: ABC

"Maverick"

James Garner as Bret Maverick, and Jack Kelly as his brother-in-arms in cards, Bart, in the TV series "Maverick."

Though Garner left the series, he returned to the character in the 1981 NBC series, "Bret Maverick."

Credit: ABC

"Darby's Rangers"

James Garner starred in the 1958 World War II actioner "Darby's Ranger," directed by William Wellman.

Credit: Warner Brothers

"The Children's Hour"

In William Wyler's 1961 adaptation of Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour," starring James Garner, Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, a child's lie about a lesbian relationship shatters a family.

Credit: United Artists

"The Great Escape"

James Garner (as "The Scrounger") and Donald Pleasance ("The Forger") take part in a daring break from a World War II prisoner of war camp, in the 1963 adventure, "The Great Escape."

Credit: United Artists

"The Thrill of It All"

Doris Day and James Garner in the 1963 romantic comedy, "The Thrill of It All."

Credit: Universal Pictures

"The Wheeler Dealers"

James Garner and Lee Remick in the comedy, "The Wheeler Dealers" (1963).

Credit: MGM

"The Americanization of Emily"

In Arthur Hiller's' "The Americanization of Emily" (1964), Julie Andrews stars as an Englishwoman who becomes romantically entangled with an American soldier in WWII London. It was the first of several pairings of Andrews and Garner in movies and TV.

Credit: MGM

"36 Hours"

James Garner and Eva Marie Saint in the espionage thriller, "36 Hours."

Credit: MGM

"Duel at Diablo"

James Garner and Bibi Andersson in the western "Duel at Diablo" (1966), which costarred Sidney Poitier and Dennis Weaver.

Credit: United Artists

"Grand Prix"

James Garner starred as a race car driver in "Grand Prix" (1966).

Credit: MGM

"Hour of the Gun"

James Garner as Wyatt Earp and Jason Robards as Doc Holliday starred in a tale of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, "Hour of the Gun" (1967).

Credit: United Artists

"Support Your Local Sheriff"

Joan Hackett and James Garner in the western comedy, "Support Your Local Sheriff" (1969).

Credit: United Artists

"Support Your Local Gunfighter"

James Garner and Jack Elam returned in 1970 with the comedy "Support Your Local Gunfighter," co-starring Suzanne Pleshette.

Credit: United Artists

"Marlowe"

As Raymond Chandler's private eye Philip Marlowe, James Garner knew when to get the draw on Bruce Lee, in "Marlowe" (1969).

Credit: MGM

"Skin Game"

In the comedy "Skin Game" (1970), Louis Gossett Jr. and James Garner played con artists in the Old West.

Credit: Warner Brothers

"The Rockford Files"

James Garner as private eye Jim Rockford in the series "The Rockford Files" (1974-80), and returned to the character in several TV movies in the 1990s.

Garner won the first of his two Emmy Awards for "Rockford Files," and received 12 other acting Emmy nominations.

Credit: NBC

Commercials

In the late 1970s and early '80s,
Garner teamed up with Mariette Hartley in a series of popular TV commercials
for Polaroid cameras. Their comfortable banter led many to believe they were
actually married.

Credit: Polaroid

"HEALTH"

James Garner (as a doctor not setting the best example) and Lauren Bacall in Robert Altman's satire, "HEALTH" (1982).

Credit: text

"Victor Victoria"

James Garner finds himself in a most unusual position in 1930s Paris when he falls for a woman who is actually a man (or so he thinks), in the Blake Edwards comedy, "Victor Victoria" (1982), starring Julie Andrews and Robert Preston.

"Victor Victoria"

"Tank"

James Garner in the 1984 comedy, "Tank."

Credit: Universal Pictures

"Murphy's Romance"

James Garner received his first and only Oscar nomination for Best Actor for the 1985 romantic comedy "Murphy's Romance," playing a pharmacist whose courting of a divorced mother (Sally Field) is interrupted by the return of her ex-husband (Brian Kerwin).

Credit: Columbia PIctures

"Promise"

In the 1986 TV movie "Promise," James Garner must care for his brother (James Woods), an epileptic who also suffers from schizophrenia.

As the film's executive producer, Garner won his second Emmy, for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special.

Credit: CBS

"Sunset"

Having played Wyatt Earp in "Hour of the Gun," Garner returned to the figure for the 1988 comedy, "Sunset," in which Earp is hired to serve as a technical adviser for Western film star Tom Mix (Bruce Willis).

Credit: TriStar Pictures

James Garner

Actor James Garner attends a game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Raiders at Memorial Coliseum in L.A., September 29, 1991.

Credit: George Rose/Getty Images

"Maverick"

Int he 1994 film "Maverick," based on Garner's '50s TV series, Mel Gibson starred as the card player Bret Maverick while Garner returned, this time on the proper side of the law, as a U.S. Marshall. Jodie Foster costarred as a con artist.

Credit: Warner Brothers

"My Fellow Americans"

Ex-presidents Jack Lemmon and James Garner confer with sitting president Dan Aykroyd in the comedy "My Fellow Americans" (1996).

Credit: Warner Brothers

"One Special Night"

Julie Andrews and James Garner co-starred in a third romance, the 1999 TV movie, "One Special Night."

Credit: CBS

"Space Cowboys"

Tommy Lee Jones, Clint Eastwood, James Garner and Donald Sutherland are the aging pilots who will save the world in the 20o0 sci-fi flick, "Space Cowboys."

Credit: Warner Brothers

"Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood"

Garner played Sandra Bullock's father
in "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" (2002).

Credit: Warner Brothers

"8 Simple Rules"

In 2003, following the death of John
Ritter, Garner joined the cast of Ritter's TV series "8 Simple
Rules," playing the grandfather of Kaley Cuoco.

Credit: ABC

"The Notebook"

James Garner and Gena Rowlands in "The Notebook" (2004). Garner received a SAG Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as an elderly man relating the tale of a wartime romance.

Credit: New Line Cinema

SAG Awards

Julie Andrews presents James Garner with the Screen Actors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Awards, at the 11th annual SAG Awards at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center on February 5, 2005 in Los Angeles.